Year of the Ram

Chinese New Year Jesse Tam greetings from Seattle/Bellevue. This year on February 19th, will be Year of the Ram.  The beginning  of Chinese Lunar New Year or also referred to as  Spring Festival, a special celebration for families and relatives for many people in Asia.  This is the time when everyone will travel to their home land and spend time with their families and relatives by train, bus, automobile and plane.  Many people will use this opportunity to travel aboard with their children and families to US or Canada.  They will visit their kids who may be attending boarding school or just visit new places likes Seattle, Las Vegas or San Francisco.

Business and factories will be closed for at least a week to give workers time for celebrating and renewing the year. Homes are decorated with  lanterns, lucky quotes, candies and fresh fruits to welcome good fortune.  Children are dressed in new clothing and homes swept to rid the negative energy from prior year.  Family members will gather together for a special meal to start the year and honor their elders.  Red lucky envelopes are given to children to bring good fortune, well wishes, good health and prosperity.

 Sharing photos  of the decorations with Jesse Tam  for the coming celebration.   http://jessetam.com/

City View 

Shanghai City and Traffic

Decors for Year of the Sheep/Ram

  Lucky Tree and  Plants  

Orange Tree for Good Luck

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Washington Apples Impact Overseas

 It was a privilege to see the fruit orchard and Yakima processing plant with Jesse Tam. Washington state apples are exported to 60 countries and provides jobs in the Yakima valley and eastern Washington. The apple industry exports 30 percent  (30%)  of its yearly harvest. How we engage in trade and doing business with other countries impacts our state economy.

Yakima Apple Orchard - Red Delicious Tree 

The average size of an orchard is about 50 acres, but some cover 3,000 acres and employ 300 or more employees year-round.  The Yakima and eastern foothills of the Cascade Mountains is the ideal area for orchard. The fields are irrigated with mountain waters.

The growers harvest a wide variety of apples including Red and Golden Delicious, Granny Smith, Braeburn, Jonagold, Fuji, Gala and many others.  Farmers are continuing to improve growing methods to produce crisper, juicier and more flavor and to keep better in storage. Apples are hand picked and dwarf trees improve harvest efficiency because labor is reduced. 

Sorting Apples

Apple Processing

Packing and Processing

The Top 10 Countries (Export)  from Washington Apple Growers:

Mexico, Canada, UAE (Dubai) Taiwan, India, Indonesia
Vietnam, Hong Kong, Saudi Arabia, Thailand

The containers are shipped to the Ports in Seattle and Pacific Northwest cargo will head overseas.  Asia values the fresh fruits and produces from Washington for its high quality and food safety.

Visit the processing plant and orchard